Growing up as an African American, there are certain things that we all can relate to. In America, we had to create our own customs and traditions because when we were brought over here on boats they stripped away all our native practices. Even now as an adult, I long to know what African country and what tribe MY people belong to. I do not feel connected to America, and that’s something that the author Itoro Bassey of the novel Faith can also relate to. The coming-of-age tale follows Arit Essien, a first-generation Nigerian-American.
Arit was born and raised in America but moved back to her homeland of Nigeria. The story explores four generations of women who explore identity, independence, expectation, and faith. The novel is written so beautifully. The first sentence of the novel is, “I’ve got an ancestor on my back.” I felt like throughout the tale I was conversing with Arit, like she is telling me the story first hand. The novel is broken into small vignettes that move the story along about the journey this black woman takes exploring a variety of topics that may not be talked about otherwise.
Like when she explored her sexuality in the vignette The Outing. That part showcased how her mother pleaded with her to stop practicing the “girl on girl lifestyle.” I felt the confusion, pain, and longing Arit had for her mother to understand her. While Bassey was writing this novel, she says she wanted the audience to understand that “it was okay to fail..and it’s okay to start again and that reconciliation, especially reconciliation with one’s ancestry and family history, is not clear cut.”
Resonating Story Themes
Throughout the story, she brings it back to her dreams often. She discusses what she sees in her dreams, what her dreams tell her, and how she is able to connect that world to the living world. I loved when she spoke about being speaking in front of crowds she said “Should I use the British English my parents speak in polite company or the pidgin they speak in exasperation? Should I use my standard American voice, fit with a slight Bostonian mumble, or use the voice needed when I’d like to mollywop somebody’s ass?”
Being black in America I always have to monitor myself, my dialect, and the way I present myself. I do this to make sure I am heard and understood. If I use the wrong wording, add in too much slang or suck my teeth too much, I could be labeled as someone who I am not.
Before the novel begins she starts with a poem by Ijeoma Umebinyuo,
Start now. Start where you are.
Start with fear. Start with pain.
Start with doubt. Start with hands
shaking. Start with voice
trembling but start. Start
and don’t stop. Start where you are,
with what you have. Just…start.
She ends the novel with a saying from an ancestor that she heard in another dream. In that moment she is set free, she started on her journey to healing and throughout the highs and lows she fully accepted her past, present and she was ready for what the future holds. Faith is a novel for us all to read, to open up our hearts and minds to reconcile, understand and grow into everchanging people we are supposed to be.
Support the Novel’s Release
Purchase your copy of Faith novel online today ($16)! Also, watch the short film documentary focusing on Reflections of Returning.